CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS 1884 - 1984
Alexandra Showgrounds 21 & 22 1984
Easter weekend of 1984 saw a great deal of hard work come to fruition with the celebration of the Alexandra Football Cub's centenary.
The weekend began with players taking part in the Saturday match against Upwey Tecoma FC. A meeting at the Mt Pleasant Hotel for a breakfast featured speeches from past players, donning new warm up jackets and then walking down the main street to the Showgrounds on what was a fine sunny day.
Congratulations must go to all who assisted in organising the weekend with special thanks to Noel Serong whose unstinting efforts to document and piece together the club's history greatly contributed to the success of the day.
The club printed a commemorative programme for the weekend and featured advertising from David & Cheryl Arnetts' Shamrock Hotel, The Redgate Motel, Yen Lai Rice Inn, S.T. & M. L. Reynolds Newsagency, Alexandra Traders Pty. Ltd, Reddrop's Licensed Food Centre, G.E. Courtney Motors, Peter & Joan McDonald Butchers, Footsteps Family Footwear, The Standard, The Mount Pleasant Hotel and Richie Robinson's Sports and Toy Centre.
The programme featured a President's Message by then President, Ivan Fox;
" May I, on behalf of the Alexandra Football Club, welcome you to our centenary celebrations. I trust you will meet many former teamates and friends this weekend and enjoy the activities the club has planned. The Alexandra Football Club is 100 years old and apart from forced breaks during the two world wars has given the young men of the town the facilities to play the great game of Australian Rules football. Although times have changed and the game itself has progressed into a multi - million dollar venture at VFL level, football in a country town like Alexandra isn't all that different except for the modes of travel and some advances in communications. It is still a game available to all young men of the community from farmers to labourers to play to their own ability and apart from those appointed as coaches the time and effort and costs are still given voluntarily for the enjoyment not only of the players but hundreds of supporters each Saturday during the season. It is a game which develops team spirit and gives its participants experiences in the highs and lows he will encounter throughout his life. I again wish you an enjoyable weekend and trust our 1984 team will show you that we are again a Premiership contender."
The programme then went on to list historical data from Noel Serong, premiership details and honour boards. This information is contained elsewhere on this web site.
Many old friendships were rekindled over the weekend with celebrations at the clubrooms featuring photo displays, speeches and memorabilia. Of course the odd toast or two was made to those who had played such an important part in making the club such an integral part of the town over the hundred years including the ladies of the club who had completed so much hard work over the years.
During the celebrations it became obvious that whilst the club was about playing football it meant much more to so many people. It was about work, social activity, loyalty, mateship and the respect for the values that the club stood for. But most importantly it was about representing the great town of Alexandra and its community.
Selected Teams For The Centenary Match
Seniors
Coach - Shane Poulter
Captain - Peter McKenzie
Playing List - 1. Matt Lewis, 3. Shane Poulter, 4. John Wallace, 5. Russell Purcell, 8. John Mahoney,
9. Brett Halligan, 11. Robert Cumming, 12. Stephen McDonald, 13. Kelly Dundas,
14. Peter McKenzie, 15 Raymond Hewitt, 16. Anthony Dehne, 18. Graham McDonald,
19. Scott Duncan, 20. Steve Mitchell, 21. Geoff Hortin, 22. John Tossol, 24. Peter Norris,
36. Barry Hortin, 38. Stu Dudgeon
Reserves
Coach - Scott Duncan
Captain - John Westwood
Playing List - A. Aldous, S. Arnell, Paul Bensz, Michael Bevan, Wayne Bevan, Geoff Coller, J. Darmody,
Peter Elward, Glen Maurer, Andrew Sore, Kelly Stillman, Kim Platt, Peter Quinn, Peter Redfern,
Dean Spinks, Graeme Thompson, John Westwood, Norm White, J. Finlay-Olsen, Graham Hewitt,
S. Reyland
